Safety matters among students

Over the last month, workshops have been held at the college to help students to identify with areas of risk and how to intelligently tackle and prevent them.

Pint Sized Theatre Company have staged their production of LUVU2 in the college’s Create Theatre to more than 400 students this academic year. This play explores why young people should, and how they might, make positive interventions to protect themselves and friends from the risk of internet and real life CSE.

It features a 14-year-old drama student Callum, who is confused as to why his class mate Lucy changed their theatre project from healthy eating to child sexual exploitation. It focuses on Lucy’s missing best friend Abigail.

It soon becomes clear that Lucy’s story is far from fictional and as the hard-hitting play unfolds the audience realises that Abigail is herself being groomed and is a victim of CSE and Lucy has been pointing this out through her drama studies.

Throughout the month, groups of students have also been having tutorials from online safety consultant, Traci Good.  Traci’s career began as a youth worker which involved her supporting young people with ‘real life’ issues.

She has now transferred those skills to helping people who are experiencing safeguarding issues online.  She provides practical training and education sessions for school staff, students, parents and community groups around all aspects of online safety.

Traci advised students about the laws surrounding sending and receiving images online, often referred to as ‘sexting’ and identified when it is classed as an offence.

Head of student support, Paul Rana, said: “These information sessions and the play were very well received by the students. It certainly opened up a lot of debate and helped answer questions that they’ve probably never been open to asking before.

“We take safeguarding our students very seriously, so highlighting these very real dangers so they can be prepared and alert was a very important exercise.”